Waterloo voters share top election concerns: housing, health-care funding and desire for change

Voters in Waterloo say they're concerned about the cost of living, health-care funding, housing and some want to see change.

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo hit the streets of uptown Waterloo Monday afternoon to hear from voters.

Nicole Thompson said she worries she will be "renting forever" because the cost of housing, and the cost of living in general, continues to rise.

"We will never afford houses. This is one thing that my peers talk about a lot. If you don't have help from your family, good luck," she said.

She said she knows of at least 10 co-workers who have decided to move to another province to be able to afford housing.

"I don't know how they expect people to afford anything anymore. And we have good jobs, we make a good amount. I can't imagine people with kids, like, how are you affording anything anymore?"

Ken Coprich said he wants to see change at Queen's Park.

"I think it's somebody else's turn and I think that's healthy for the system to change that power," he said.

He said there were policies and actions he liked about Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford over the last four years.

"I like the NDP also, except for the excesses of liberal spending. That's a little worrisome," he said. "But then I come down to let's change the power and give her [NDP Leader Andrea Horwath] a chance."

Daun Fletcher said she has real concerns about health-care infrastructure, especially gaps in the system brought to light by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said wait times for routine procedures right now are a big problem. Fletcher said people may wait a few months to get a mammogram.

"Which if you've had cancer, is scary that you have to wait that long because you understand that months can make a big difference," she said, adding she's a cancer survivor.

"You recognize how difficult it is to wait for test results, for example, just to make sure that you're OK after you've had any kind of surgery or radiation. And now people are having to wait a lot longer for that. So I have a lot of sympathy for people who have to go through that because it's nerve wracking."

Fletcher said the past two years have been exhausting for many people, but she hopes people still make the effort to vote.

"We're seeing all around the world, places where people, you know, they're fighting and things are changing for them," she said. "I would just say, if you can get out and vote — there's ten days of advance polls, I believe — do it."

Voting day is June 2.

WATCH | Waterloo voter Tom Tutssel shares his top issue in this provincial election: